Whether you have a small loyal following or thousands of downloads per episode, promoting an offer that brings in recurring revenue is a smart way to create passive income. The key to this is to share a subscription-based product or service with your audience. This could be a product or service that you are an affiliate for, or one that you create yourself. 

“Whether it's your own offer or an affiliate offer, it should align with your podcast brand and solve a problem for your listener. Not only will it be a win-win for everyone involved, it will also bring in recurring revenue to your business,” explains Jaclyn Mellone, a podcasting expert, and host of Go-To Gal, a top podcast for female entrepreneurs.

“As an affiliate, you want to seek out partnerships that pay recurring commissions. Four years ago, my former co-host and I signed up as an affiliate for a well known SaaS company. Each time a listener signed up for the service through our link, we started to receive a percentage of that person’s monthly bill on a recurring basis—indefinitely. I stopped running ads for this company last year, but it continues to be a five-figure passive income stream for us!” 

A podcast gives you your own media platform where you’re showcasing your expertise week after week. This visibility puts you on the radar of other media outlets and helps you stand out from the crowd when pitching yourself. 

“Whether it’s print, TV, digital, or even other podcasts, when you want to pitch yourself for TV or a popular podcast or a huge online platform, having a living, breathing authority platform in your podcast showcases you as an expert,” says Mellone. “Your podcast adds to your credibility, commitment and professionalism as the go-to expert in your industry.